Summer Heat
by Maiden of the Moon
Summary: Reaching out, I snagged a fistful of his shirt and yanked it. Hard. As I did so, I gave him my demand: “Take off your clothes.” [BellaxEdward. NOT what you're probably thinking!]


_Disclaimer:_ The Twilight series is not mine, but I do keep Edward in my closet. X3

_Author's Note:_ I miss summer! Curses on Midwest winters… T.T

Oh, and I should mention that I have absolutely no idea about what the weather is like up in Forks; I'm pretty much making this up as I go. But I'm sure even crazy, rainy places like Forks have heat snaps. The weather can do weird things…

In any case, enjoy:D

**XXX **

Summer Heat

**XXX**

You'd think that, with all of the clouds and shade and general wetness, summers in Forks would be cool. You'd think that, with the never-ending rains, Forks would be drowning in refreshing mists. You'd think that, with the sheer number of sunless days, all of the heat would ooze out of the atmosphere directly above Forks and leave us pleasantly frozen.

Of course, Forks has never ceased to surprise me. Really, you'd think I'd have learned by now… It has vampire, werewolves—why wouldn't it have heat waves that could melt the Arctic?

With a groan of irritation, I writhed beneath my sheets, kicking incessantly at the impossibly restraining cloth. Despite my escape attempts, the blankets curled and knotted around my legs, refusing to let me go—like one of those Chinese finger traps. I nearly screamed with frustration, trying to break free.

The springs shrieked. The bed rocked.

I bolted upright with a furious hiss: eyes glazed, hair wild, and nightshirt mussed. My hands formed fists around the thin white sheets, pulling futilely at the bonds. "Come _on_!" I snarled, tugging and squirming and wriggling and—

My body careened dangerously to the right, much too close to the edge of the mattress.

_Crap!_ A gasp of horror wedged itself in my throat, ready to form a yelp— but vanished when a strong arm looped around me, pulling me back onto bed.

"Oh…"

Golden eyes, all at once concerned, amused, and irked, watched me through the shadows; they sparkled like jewels in the moonlight spilling through the window. "I think you've bruised yourself enough for one day, Bella."

I flushed, half from embarrassment, half from the heat, as Edward scolded me with his gaze.

"Sorry," I grumbled, rubbing at the back of my neck. Originally, the gesture was simply that—a gesture. In the end, it was an excuse to un-stick the hair clinging to my throat. "I just can't get comfortable! It's so hot…"

"Shall I open a window?" Edward suggested softly, watching me fidget with half-lidded eyes. At this point, I couldn't tell if he was entertained by my expressions, annoyed by my antics, or worried that I was going to die of heat stroke. "There may be a nice breeze."

"Thanks, but no," I muttered, ripping off my socks. It was the last article of clothing I felt comfortable removing in Edward's presence, and to my great disappointment, it did me no good. The heat continued to leak beneath my shirt and shorts, fusing to my skin… I felt as if I weighed two tons. "I don't have a screen in my window, remember? There'd be air flow, but also mosquitoes by the thousands coming in to feast on my blood. It'd be a Bella banquet."

Edward frowned. "We can't have that."

"Yeah… I don't want you getting jealous," I said, attempting an airy tease but ending up with a labored sigh. His frown darkened.

"That's not funny."

"Well, I can only try…"

While I mumbled and plucked weakly at my T-shirt, his angered expression softened, as if moved by my obvious suffering. "Poor Bella," he breathed, his velvet voice soothing and sweet. Its tenor calmed me somewhat, and momentarily stilled my thrashing...

But there was only so much a voice—even _his_ voice—could do. "Is there any way I can help?"

I collapsed, closing my eyes and trying to lie perfectly still atop the bedspread. Maybe if I stopped moving, I reasoned, it would stop feeling so hot. As I considered this musing further, I came to the following conclusion: my brain must be melting "Do you know of any icebergs near by?"

Edward chuckled, shifting his weight (though of course I didn't feel him do so) as he curled beside me, like a doting cat. Or like one of those mountain lions he so enjoyed hunting.

"There's Canada," he suggested lightly, resting his chin in the palm of his right hand. His left began playing with the ends of my hair… I tried to concentrate on the sensation, rather than the rising temperature. "Does that count?"

"Eh" was all I manage in reply. He laughed, brushing his lips against my forehead.

…and the most wonderful, marvelous, _indescribable_ sensation flowed through me.

Not just because of his kiss— even though his kisses still made me feel all tingly inside. No… because it was cool.

Not even cool: cold. Frigid. Frosty. Wonderfully, marvelously, indescribably _icy_.

I sat up so fast I nearly cracked our foreheads together; Edward snapped a curse under his breath, startled. "Bella! What're you—?!"

Oblivious to his reprimands, I whipped around to lock gazes with him. He instinctively recoiled, temporarily stunned by the crazed glint in my eye. "Bella…?" he said, tentative and unsure. "What is—?"

Reaching out, I snagged a fistful of his shirt and yanked it. Hard. As I did so, I gave him my demand:

"Take off your clothes."

Silence.

Outside, a cricket chirped.

Inside, my words rung silently—nearly tangible objects in the heavy summer heat.

And all the while, he stared at me. He stared at me, thunderstruck, as I stared at him— my cheeks and ears, slowly but surely, turning cherry red, burning as if on fire.

If it were possible for vampires to blush, I'm sure his would have done it, too.

"…what was that?" Edward choked out after a minute, encasing my tugging fingers in his own. It was like dipping my hands in ice water; I nearly cried with happiness. But even the comfort of his arctic skin wasn't enough to distract me from my current mortification.

"I, um— I mean," I struggled, squirming again—though for a different reason. "I don't… that is to say… you've got _really cold skin_," I finally managed, painfully obvious though the statement was. I felt like an idiot. Edward stared at me as if I was one. "It's like ice… and…"

Despite the awkwardness, he managed a sardonic smirk. "Refreshing, is it?"

Thankful for his understanding—though not his sarcasm— I flashed him a grateful beam. "More so than lemonade."

There was another long, drawn out silence; his fingers tapped strange sorts of flustered rhythms against my wrists. Then he loosened my grip… and began unbuttoning his top.

I could hardly believe it. "Edward…?" I gasped, unsure of what to say. _Thank you? I'm sorry? This sort of makes me wish I lived in the Sahara?_ In the end, I just opted for looking grateful beyond words.

His response was to look away, ill at ease, as his shirt joined the sheets at the foot of the bed. At first, I thought his discomfort stemmed from anger… then I realized—by way of his shuffles and silent coughs—he was merely self-conscious.

I had absolutely no idea why. He was, after all, indescribably beautiful: a Greek god, an Adonis, my angel… and the now-visible planes of his smooth, marble chest in _no _way changed my opinion on that. Quite the opposite, really…

But rather than embarrass him further with my ogling eyes, I decided to put him out of his misery—

"Woah! Bella—!"

And tackle-hugged him to the bed.

_Heaven_. Pure, unadulterated Heaven… the chill from his skin leached through my pjs, pealing off pounds of my heat-weight. My lips curled into a smile; my limbs melted into his. It was bliss.

Wholly content, I rested atop him, allowing the delicious freeze to seep into my bloodstream. Beneath me, he laid perfectly still; I mimicked him, savoring the feel of ice as it radiated, wintry and brisk, from his core into mine.

We laid there like that for a while, wordlessly… Now that I was cool, weariness was turning my eyelids to lead. My body relaxed; I unconsciously nestled into Edward— my giant teddy bear— and wrapped him in a warm embrace.

No pun intended.

Again, he chuckled… and when he pressed his lips to my forehead, I could feel his smile. "Better?" he inquired.

"_Never_ better," I assured with a hazy yawn.

A hush fell; a calm followed. Outside, the moon glowed brightly, casting shadows. Fireflies flickered, dancing, cheerful and green. A quiet wind rustled through the ancient trees.

I was soon asleep, Edward's lullaby echoing softly in my ears.

**XXX**


End file.
